Grocers feeling water rush from Toledo residents

Undrinkable water in Toledo is forcing area residents to buy water from Ottawa and Sandusky counties' grocery stores.

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Lilli Carter, of Slyvania, stands next to her shopping cart of drinking water at the Fremont Wal-Mart Saturday. Carter's neice purchased the water earlier in the morning so her aunt could pick it up and have water for the weekend after residents were urged not to consume Toledo water. Rich McGowan/News-Messenger.(Photo: Rich McGowan/News-Messenger.)Buy Photo

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Residents from the Toledo area have been flocking to area grocery stores buying drinking water

By the early afternoon Saturday, Lilli Carter was one of the few shoppers at Fremont's Wal-Mart to walk out of the store with drinking water.

Carter's niece, Jennifer, stopped by the store around 7:30 a.m., to purchase four gallons of drinking water and two 28-bottle cases as well. She left the water near the store's customer service desk for her aunt who picked up the water shortly before 1 p.m., traveling to Fremont from her home on Sylvania.

Carter was thrilled to have the water which she said would last her to "at least Monday."

Carter was one of the thousands in the Toledo area left to scramble to neighboring county grocery stores in search of drinkable water after a no-drink advisory was issued for all those with Toledo city water due to the presence of algae.

"It's scary," Carter said. "I won't bathe in it. Not me. I saw on TV the river was green."

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(Photo: Rich McGowan/News-Messenger)

Stores throughout Sandusky and Ottawa counties struggled to keep up with the sudden demand for water. Wal-Mart sold out of its supply by mid-morning and expected to have a new shipment by mid-afternoon.

"It's been very busy, it was a good 20-plus pallets, easily," said Wal-Mart manager Rob Hershey.

A 16-year employee, the last five with the Fremont store, Hershey said this water demand is unlike others he's experienced because the Toledo residents affected cannot boil water at home.

"This one is a little more hectic," he said.

A K-Mart employee who wished not to be identified said the store was out of water and would not have more until after the weekend.

A spokesperson for the Kroger store in Fremont has not returned a phone call seeking comment.

Lester Weatherwax, the manager of the Community Market in Oak Harbor, said the store had sold through seven pallets by mid-morning Saturday. Each pallet holds 80 cases of water.

"I just called our warehouse, they're going to run me a special semi-load and it's just going to be water," Weatherwax said. "So I'll have probably about 24 pallets this afternoon."

Having worked at the Community Market for 30 years, Weatherwax has seen rushes on water before.

"It does happen every time there is a boil alert," he said. "The bad part is there is no planning you can do for it."